Samsung appeal to delay patent verdict denied

Samsung seems to be having quite a bad end to the month now that there is practically nothing stopping Apple from collecting on damages due to it. District Court Judge Lucy Koh has rejected Samsung's motion to delay the end of the trial due to the uncertain status of one of the most important patents used against it throughout the entire legal saga.

The legal battle between rivals Samsung and Apple reached another critical point last week when the jury decided to award Apple $290 million in damages. While Samsung would have naturally preferred to have to pay nothing at all, this figure is still considerably less than the original $400 million that Judge Koh asked to be recalculated in this latest trial. Of course, this amount will be added to the original $600 million ruled on last year.

The verdict may already be out, but Samsung tried to pull off one last attempt. It appealed to the court to delay the proceedings due to the US Patent Office's own indecision regarding one of the critical patents involved in the case, Patent No. 7,844,915, now known by everyone as "pinch-to-zoom". If the patent was to be found invalid later on, the entire post-trial proceedings would be a practical waste of time and money.

Judge Koh denied the appeal but hasn't exactly slammed the door in Samsung's face. According to her, it will actually be better for the Federal Circuit, which handles District Court rulings related to patent infringement, to get the entire case for review, including the verdict, instead of letting bits and pieces hanging around. Furthermore, she advised Samsung to try to convince Apple to forego post-trial procedures in order to immediately appeal the case to the Federal Circuit.